- Title: GERMANY: GERMAN BREEDER BELIEVES HE HAS REVIVED THE ONCE EXTINCT GERMAN BEAR DOGS
- Date: 29th January 2004
- Summary: (L!2) PERLEBERG, GERMANY (JANUARY 29, 2004) (REUTERS) DOG BREEDER CARSTEN KIEBACK WALKS OUT OF GATE WITH DOGS KIEBACK WALKING ACROSS FIELD WITH DOGS KIEBACK PLAYING WITH DOGS DOG ROLLING IN SNOW KIEBACK PETTING DOG DOGS PLAYING WITH BALL (SOUNDBITE) (German) DOG BREEDER, CARSTEN KIEBACK, SAYING: "The old Germans had big, bear-like dogs that they took hunting. Being a fan of the old German ways, I have read about this. Many years ago they had an unexpected litter of dogs with big, blue eyes like a teddy bear--and that is why they called them 'bear dogs." MAN CARRYING PUPPIES PUPPIES RUNNING IN SNOW PUPPIES DRINKING MILK FROM MOTHER PUPPIES PLAYING PUPPIES EATING FOOD
- Embargoed: 13th February 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PERLEBERG, GERMANY
- City:
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Environment,People,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA2RLMZU0C0JUUPCQ09C3QOCEGZ
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: A German breeder believes he has revived the once-extinct German Bear dogs.
German dog breeder Carsten Kieback takes a walk each day with his dogs. An ordinary enough event, except that he thinks his dogs were once extinct and are now one of the rarest breeds in the world.
Kieback is one of four breeders in Germany who have produced what they call "German Bear Dogs". He believes that there are no more than 2,500 of these dogs worldwide.
They appear to be related to Utchak Sheep Dogs, another rare breed, but Kieback believes that they are really a species in themselves that was extinct for about 2,000 years. The German Bear Dogs were believed to be hunting dogs used by hunters in what is now northern Germany.
"The old Germans had big, bear-like dogs that they took hunting. Being a fan of the old German ways, I have read about this. Many years ago they had an unexpected litter of dogs with big, blue eyes like a teddy bear--and that is why they called them 'bear dogs'," says Kieback.
Kieback believes that the German Bear Dogs reappeared in the 1980s when one of his St. Bernards had puppies with a Sheep Dog. The puppies, he says, seemed to be a completely new breed. Kieback thinks that the mother and father held long-passive genes of the German Bear Dog that finally came out.
The dogs are bigger than their relatives the Karelian Bear Dogs. They eventually grow up to a size of 80 centimetres and weigh about 80 kilos.
Kieback sells his dogs for a price of 500 to 1,000 Euros. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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